So what you say is, that you prefer the finish from aoto?
I have looked for a good aoto bud didn't find one. Also many of the descriptions I read about aotos was not that good either...
That's why I decided on this Tsushima, but when I read the above posts, I think that it may not be completely what I look for. Yet I hope it wil turn out alright. Being on the harder side is not necessarily a problem for me, but of course sharpening qualities and finish matters... Another thing that's confusing me, is that I've seen this stone described as being a 2-3k grit like stone to a 6-8k grit like stone??
Maybe if used with an appropriate nagura?
There are many other stones more similar to aoto than tsushima.
If you're looking at jnats and like something hard, shoot for something like a super hard asagi.Hey guys. Question: how hard is "hard"?
Say, compared to the Shapton Glass line? I have a 1000 of that line and it seems fairly hard. I like it a lot. I have a finer stone that's harder (Naniwa Super, 10,000). I like that one too.
...looking to breach the waters of natural stones ...
That seems to answer my question, but I would really be interested in the opinion of the other members here who know a Tsushima themselves.I had great results using it as a sharpening stone (no polishing) on a Kochi 270mm kurouchi gyuto, leaving something around 5k-8k finish, but with teeth enough to slice tomatoes easily. It's not a fast stone, though.
I have used four different Tsushimas, I don’t polish, been sharpening for a couple years and would consider myself a beginner. Personally I like the Tsushima for sharpening, I know of three other guys that use them and like them. I’d rate it 5-6k. The ones Ive used benefit from getting a little mud going with a Nagura of some sort, I use a diamond plate just because it’s easy. They have a real earthy smell to them, they can be a little sticky but you can adjust your mud accordingly. They are reasonably priced, have few impurities and good feel, at least that’s my experience. I have some big Aotos, Aizus and Numatas I use prior to a Tsushima, works fine. Typically the Tsushimas I’ve seen are large heavy stones, lots of 210 x 80s out there and most are fairly thick. They are also inexpensive compared to many J Nats. I paid between 130-190 for mine. Not sure this helps, thought I’d share in case something I said resonates.This threat is very interesting for me. As I understand it, two things are discussed here simultaneously, polishing and sharpening.
Perhaps it would be better to separate these two aspects. As I understand it so far, the Tsushima is generally harder than most like here and is not so good for polishing / Kasumi, here a (good) Aoto is obviously more suitable ?!
If we only talk about sharpening, double beveled knives and an aggressive edge with a lot of bite, how do you think the Tsushima is suitable for this?
I have to add, I like hard natural stones and have no problem even with a hard Arkansas.
That seems to answer my question, but I would really be interested in the opinion of the other members here who know a Tsushima themselves.
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